


Stress Relief Therapy

by lies_d



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, M/M, Sex Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-25 14:45:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4964716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lies_d/pseuds/lies_d
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hooli has a division of sex workers. Working his way through school, Jared is one of them. As a practical joke, Richard is sent to his room for an appointment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the worst thing I have ever written and nobody should ever read it anywhere, at any time.

Richard scanned his key card at the door. He was nervous as hell. This was his first time. The doors slid open, but nobody was there. Maybe he had the wrong door? They all looked the same, except for the numbers by the key scanners.

Richard stepped inside anyways. There was another man sitting on the bed, wearing only a plain t-shirt and boxers. He looked up from the tablet he was reading.

"Oh, hi!"

"Um. Hi. Is, ah, Cyndi here?" Richard asked.

"No. Just me. I'm Jared. And you're um," Jared consulted his tablet. "Ricky? We have an appointment."

Richard put his hands in his hoodie pockets. "It's Richard, actually. But um... _oh_ ," he said softly, almost to himself. "I think I get what's happened. My contract was just sold to Hooli, so I'm new here and these guys... a couple of my coworkers said they'd sign me up for this program." They didn't have anything like this 'stress relief therapy division' at his home-town corporation. He'd been too shy to sign up, and those guys had seemed friendly. He always did have a little trouble telling when people were making fun of him. "I guess this is their idea of a joke. I'll just, um, go try and reschedule with Cyndi." 

Jared stood up. He was taller than Richard, but looked like he weighed about the same - all gawky and lean. "Are you sure? You probably won't be able to get another appointment until tomorrow at least. You could stay." 

Richard shook his head. "I um, I'm not really, ah, into guys, so..."

"Oh. Okay." Jared nodded. "But, if you go now that will count as a walk-out on my record and that's... really not good for me. So maybe, do you think you could stay? Please?" 

Richard's mouth opened to say 'no thanks,' but he really didn't want to get anyone into trouble. It hung open while his brain tried to come up with an alternative.

"I could give you a blow job," offered Jared. "I've been told I give very good head. And if you close your eyes you won't even be able to tell I'm a guy. Okay? Okay...?" 

Jared nodded as though to coax Richard into nodding along. His blue eyes were strangely wide, as if he'd had very little sleep. 

"O-kay? I guess?" Richard found himself agreeing, without quite knowing why. This was all very strange to him. He'd never been offered a blow job just like that, and so had no idea how to turn one down.

"Great!" A smile lit up Jared's face. He took Richard by the wrist and led him over to the bed. His fingers were long, his touch light but deft. He undid Richard's pants and pushed them down to the floor.

"Sit," Jared told him.

Richard sat down on the bed. Jared knelt down in front of him. This all seemed to be happening very quickly. Richard was surprised by his own erection. At least his body seemed to know what was going on even if his mind hadn't quite caught up.

"Whaat?" Richard finally managed to say just as Jared took him in his mouth.

"Oh! Ah...oh. Wow. Um... wow. That's ah, you _are_ pretty good at that."

"Hmm-hmm."

It didn't take very long. Richard gasped. Jared swallowed. While Richard leaned back on his palms to catch his breath, Jared tucked him back into his underwear.

"Thank you, um, Jared. That was nice."

Jared responded with a sunny smile. "You're welcome, Richard."

Richard realized that he'd completely forgotten to close his eyes and pretend he was a woman.

Jared stood up. "Would you like some water, or some cold green tea? You could take a nap if you want. You've got the whole hour."

That was actually tempting. "Maybe some water?" Richard answered.

Jared took two bottles of water from a fridge nearby. Giving one to Richard, he sat down on the bed beside him and opened the other one.

"We could just sit and talk for awhile," said Jared. "You said you were new here - how is Hooli life suiting you?"

Richard shrugged. The fact that he'd only been here a month, and already he would rather hang out here with a complete stranger rather than go back to his desk wasn't a good sign.

He told Jared about it, and was pleased when Jared made sympathetic comments. They talked some more and when Jared found out that Richard had used up his lunch break to go home and shower before their appointment, he insisted Richard eat some of the yogurt and fruit he had in his fridge. Jared told him a little about himself, about the business degree he was in the middle of getting. They talked about life in Tower N-2.

It was nice. Richard hadn't expected it to be like this.

Then, miracle of miracles, ten minutes before his time was up, Jared offered him another blow job. Again, Richard didn't turn him down. This time was even better than the last. Richard knew what was happening, and he lasted longer.

Richard left Jared as he'd found him - sitting on the bed, reading his tablet. At the door he felt a twinge of regret over the thought that he wouldn't be back.

~~~


	2. Chapter 2

When Richard stepped into Jared's room the second time, Jared's face lit up to see him. 

"Richard! What a nice surprise!" 

Richard nodded bashfully. "Hi Jared," he said. He didn't say that he'd been to see Cyndi last week. That was one humiliating story he would never tell anyone. 

"Would you like the same thing as last time, or did you want something different?" 

"Same as last time would be fine," said Richard, grateful that Jared didn't question his earlier claim that he didn't like guys. He wasn't sure if he could've explained it himself, this urge that had brought him back.

Midway through his third visit, Richard figured it out. He might not like guys generally, but he liked Jared. He was nice. Smart. Didn't make him feel smaller - less of a person, the way most people did. Richard was still getting used to Hooli, and it helped him a lot to have a friendly face to talk to.

The orgasms helped too, of course.

A few weeks later when his first work review came in, Richard was given the option of taking two sessions a week. Just looking at the other profiles in the SRT division made him feel anxious and self-conscious. If there was a word for the opposite of erect, he felt that way too.

He signed up with Jared as his default provider.

~~~


	3. Chapter 3

"I was wondering if you'd like to try something different today," said Jared.

"Um, how different?" Said Richard. 

Jared was on his knees in front of Richard, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. They were chatting a little before they started, the way they usually did. They'd been seeing each other for over two months now.

"Not very. I just though maybe I could try touching you a little more."

"Um. Okay." Richard didn't see why Jared should touch him more than he already did, but he was open to suggestions. 

"Tell me if you want me to stop," said Jared.

Jared put his hands on Richard’s knees. Moved them up. Rubbed the inside of his thighs with his thumbs. 

"Oh. That's actually kinda nice." 

Jared smiled. "Good." He moved his hands to Richard's hips, pushing up the hem of his t-shirt just enough so that he could touch his skin.

"Do you have sensitive nipples?" 

"I don't know." That was a question he'd never been asked before.

"Let's find out." 

Jared slid one hand up into Richard's t-shirt. 

"Mmm. That's um..."  

"Good?" Jared pushed one side of Richard's t-shirt up, exposing one nipple. He tipped his head down and took it in his mouth. Laved it, nipped it. 

"Ohh god." Richard’s hips jerked forward involuntarily. 

Jared took his mouth away to grin at him. "I think that answers that." 

Both of Richard's nipples were hard, and he was dimly aware that if it had any been anyone else but Jared here with him he would have been mortified. 

"May I take off your shirt?" Jared asked.

"Sure, ah, okay," Richard said shakily.

Jared lifted Richard's t-shirt off up over his head and set it neatly aside.

"Lean back a little," Jared told him.

Richard leaned back.

Jared put his hands on the waistband of Richard's boxers again, then moved them slowly up his torso. He leaned forward to kiss him in spots - his stomach, his sternum, his collarbone. His eyes flicked up each time to watch Richard's face for a reaction, and it kind of reminded Richard of a hardware diagnostic test. Which, he supposed, in a way it was. Activate this part, wait for response; activate this part, wait for response. Inexplicably, he liked this a lot. It felt strangely comforting to be given as much care and attention as a high-powered server.

"Usually I'm kinda ticklish there," Richard said, as Jared's hands moved over his ribcage. Jared's touch was warm and slow in a way that was somehow both comforting and arousing. "I guess not all the...  _oh._ "

Jared was doing something wonderful with his mouth right where Richard's neck met his shoulder.

"That's, um, ahh, that's really, ah, yeah, thank you." He reached out with one hand to hold onto Jared's side.

Pulling back, Jared smiled bemusedly at him while he caught his breath. 

"May I kiss you?" Jared asked.

Richard nodded.

Jared kissed him. Softly at first, then with more confidence. Richard had never much liked kissing before - all mashed lips and tongues clashing. He liked this. He'd never kissed another guy before and it was... different. He tasted different. Richard closed his eyes, and when he opened them again to see Jared smiling softly at him, it was like Jared was... more  _there_ to him somehow, in a way he hadn't been before. He ran his hand up and down the skin under Jared's t-shirt.

"I can take that off if you want to touch me."

Richard nodded. No matter that Jared was a guy, suddenly Richard was a tangled ball of wordless  _need._

Jared took his shirt off and leaned forward to lay kisses up and down Richard's neck. When one of his hands came up to play with his nipple, Richard tipped his head back and slid a little further down towards the bed.

"Let's lie down," suggested Jared.

"Okay."

"Did you want me to ride you?"

Richard did - really, really did, but he would never have been able to bring himself to ask.

"Okay."

Settling up on the bed with his head on the pillow, Richard didn't even have the wits about him to take off his own underwear. Jared did that. Jared undressed them both and unrolled a lubed condom onto Richard's erection and before he knew it Jared was on top of him, legs straddling his hips, lowering himself until Richard bottomed out inside of him.

Richard swallowed hard. Surprisingly, the nonsense babble running through his head didn't manage to dribbled out of his mouth.

"Thank you," was all he managed say.

Jared smiled and made a little huffing sound, as though Richard had said something funny. He leaned down and kissed him before he started to move.

"Hm, that doesn't usually happen. Not with clients anyways," said Jared when he noticed Richard staring at his erection, bobbing between them. Fairly standard equipment really, but obvious proof that yes, he was having sex with another man. And it felt really good. Richard decided he didn't want to think about what that meant, and whether it was a bad thing or not. He trusted Jared. This was the best sex he'd had in years so just for once he wanted his goddamn brain to stop worrying.

He reached out to stroke Jared off while he rode him. Never in a million years did he think he'd ever jerk a penis other than his own, but it seemed only fair. 

"Is that okay?" Richard asked, realizing he probably should have asked first. 

Jared nodded with his eyes closed. "It's ah...  _ah_ ... it's really nice." 

Richard was pleased that for once he was the one making Jared lose some of his composure.

They moved together until Jared's breath started to hitch. With a whimper he tucked his face into the nook of Richard's neck and came in Richard's hand, making a slick mess on his stomach but Richard didn't care because he was on the cusp of one fucking amazing orgasm.

After Jared cleaned them both off with a warm cloth, they curled up together under a clean sheet.

"How did you know I would want that?" Richard asked when he felt like he could speak again.

Behind him, Jared shrugged. "I didn't know. I just wanted to try something fresh. Don't want you to get tired of me - of, you know, the same old routine."

Richard was sure he would've been happy going to Jared for blowjobs twice a week for the rest of his life.

"I won't get tired of you," he said.

"That's kind of you to say," Jared said, and laid a kiss against the back of Richard's neck. "But I really think you should look at the list of services on the SRT site. I'd be more than willing to try whatever you want."

They held each other until it was almost time for Richard to go. He was quite sure there was no way he could take secondsies.

Jared lounged on the bed while he watched Richard getting dressed. The contented look on his face made Richard smile. Lately Jared seemed more relaxed, more cheerful.

"You seem happy today," Richard couldn't help but comment.

"Ha - really? That's ironic. I just stopped taking happy pills."

"Oh yeah?" Richard was still getting used to the pills here. People still took them back home, but they didn't talk about it nearly as much.

"Yeah. They were making me jittery," said Jared. "I'm not on anything now and it's... oddly nice."

"Yeah I tried the calm-down ones, but ah, with my stomach - not good."

He was glad he wasn't the only one he knew who wasn't taking anything.

Jared sat up on the edge of the bed. Richard had to bend a little to kiss him goodbye.

~~~


	4. Chapter 4

Richard stayed late in the office to look up the 'menu', such as it was, on offer through the SRT division. Every other paragraph had him glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody else was in the room.

There was so much - he had no idea. Things he'd never heard of. Things he'd heard of but would never do. Things he was curious about but would never ask for, even if it meant simply ticking a little box on a drop down menu. Jared would get the notification that 'Richard has requested ____ for his next appointment,' and no, even the thought of that was too much.

The only section that he found really useful was the 'gifts' section, which delineated restrictions on the kinds of gifts he could give his SR therapist.

It hadn't occurred to Richard to get any gifts for Jared. Did people do that? Was it expected? Had he been failing at this common courtesy? The thought gave him sweats. Jared had never failed to be polite to him, and he'd never asked for anything.

Now that Richard thought about it, the shelves in Cyndi's room had a fair amount of stuff. Makeup, jewellery, expensive-looking tchotchkes. Jared's room was pretty bare. Richard always assumed it was because Jared didn't need anything. Maybe that was the case. Maybe not.

He lost a couple of hours that night finding the perfect gift that would deliver quickly, and tried to make up for it by sleeping on the carpet under his desk again.

It was a picture frame loaded with bird photographs - Richard remembered that Jared mentioned an interest in birding, which he never had time to do anymore. It had a setting to play each bird's song when a new picture came up.

Jared loved it. He set it up on a shelf. It chirped at them as they kissed and took off each others' clothes.

Things unfolded naturally, like they were lovers, like they just wanted each other, like they were having an afternoon tryst. Richard was sure he'd seen that on the menu somewhere - the 'boyfriend experience.' But he hadn't asked for it and he wasn't pretending. He made sure Jared came before he did.  He apologized for taking so long in bed that he didn't have time to stay and talk. He started working longer hours so he could take a third session every week and it still didn't feel like nearly enough.

~~~


	5. Chapter 5

One day, months later, Richard finally worked up the nerve to ask for something out of the ordinary. He stammered his way through his request, barely able to form the words, but Jared seemed to understand what he wanted.

Jared produced a long padded stool from underneath the bed (there seemed to be a lot of oddly shaped foam pillows under there, Richard wondered what they could be used for). Kneeled down on it, legs parted, leaning onto the bed.

Richard stood behind him. Fumbled with the condom before he finally got it on. He hadn't been sure about the stool thing, but he understood now. They lined up perfectly.

Jared guided Richard's hands to his hips.

"There. Go."

Richard held on tight and fucked him hard.

Jared leaned back into his thrusts and their skin slapped together. Richard didn't think he would last very long. He held on for dear life.

"Can you make yourself come? I love it when you come while we're fucking." It was the dirtiest thing Richard had ever said. He'd never been this aroused before in his life, and it made him bold.

Jared made a huffing sound and reached between his legs to stroke himself.

"Next time I don't want to use a condom," Richard said.

"There's some paperwork to fill out," said Jared.

Jared's movements became jerkier and his body clenched deliciously around Richard as he fell down into an orgasm and pulled Richard right in after him.

Richard all but collapsed onto Jared's back. He let himself rest there for a moment while he caught his breath, bringing his arms around Jared to hold him.

"Was that okay?" Richard asked in a weak voice.

"It was." Jared squeezed his hand.

But Richard didn't believe him until he saw Jared's face, when they both crawled into bed. His cheeks were flush and his eyes bright with post-coital pleasure. A smile played on his lips. He lounged loose-limbed back onto the pillows and opened his arms to Richard.

Richard thought of a million things he could say but nothing seemed quite right. He didn't trust his words at the best of times and what he wanted Jared to understand seemed too important and too big to fuck up with words. Too much joy - too much gratitude.

Richard crawled over to Jared and peppered his face and neck with kisses until Jared laughed, and they stayed wrapped up together until the last second possible.

~~~


	6. Chapter 6

The blood tests had come back and the paperwork had all been filed.

Richard practically danced a little jig at Jared's door while he waited for their appointment to start.

The door finally opened for him but there was no one there - no one at the entrance, no one in the bedroom.

He heard a noise coming from the bathroom. The door was closed. He knocked on it.

Jared answered in just his boxers. His hair was still damp and he looked like he'd been crying.

"Richard! I'm so sorry - I lost track of time."  

Richard looked at him. Something was off. Jared's movements were jerky in a way that reminded Richard of the first time they met.

“Are you... are you okay?” Richard asked.

Jared nodded, wide-eyed and unsmiling.

“Of course. I’m fine! I just lost a little sleep last night. What did you have in mind for our session today?”

Jared wrapped his arms around himself and one of his hands rubbed at the waistband of his boxers.

Richard caught the movement and reached out to move Jared’s hand. There was a bruise on his hip in the shape of a finger. Richard nudged his waistband down a little further and saw another one.

It felt like a bucket of ice water being poured on him. He took his hand back.

“Did – did I do that?” Richard stammered. They didn’t do it often, but the last time he’d been here, they’d been a little bit rough.

“No.” Jared shook his head but didn’t elaborate.

Richard didn’t know what was worse – if he had done it or if it had been somebody else. He shook his head, trying to figure out what he was supposed to say, if anything.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Jared?” He asked again. “You don’t seem okay.” He wondered if Jared had started taking pills again, and was having a bad reaction. Somehow he didn't think so.

Jared looked down and shrugged. “I didn’t have a very good day yesterday. Then I didn’t sleep much. I should have taken the day off – I’m sorry. But we can still – I mean, depending on what you want, I can still get you off."

Richard shook his head. “No, I don’t think we should do anything today.” It was just a feeling he had that he couldn’t explain.

Jared’s face broke as if Richard had slapped him.

“Please don’t go. We can still – “

“I won’t go. I’m not going anywhere.” Richard took Jared by the arms until he lost the haunted look on his face. Leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Come on. Let’s sit.”

He guided Jared to the bed, where they sat against the headboard and the pillows. Richard took out his phone and found some bird videos and cartoons he thought Jared would like. Jared had such an alarming amount of restrictions on his little tablet and wasn’t able to watch anything non-work related.

It wasn’t long before Jared felt better, but he didn’t suggest sex and neither did Richard. They ate some snacks that Richard had brought, and they talked. Jared apologized – no condomless sex for a little while yet. He needed another set of blood tests done.

Richard convinced him to take the rest of the day off. After Jared cancelled his appointments, Richard held him until he fell asleep.

"Sorry," Jared mumbled when Richard finally pulled away. "I'm so sorry, Richard. I didn't mean to disappoint you."

"You didn't. It's okay," said Richard. He tucked Jared under a sheet before finally leaving to get back to work.

~~~


	7. Chapter 7

“I have amazing news.” Richard announced one day.

“That’s wonderful, Richard. What is it?” said Jared.

“Guess who’s going to be the head of their own division?”

“Is it you?”

“Yep, it’s me!” Richard pointed both thumbs at himself even though he’d forgotten to do the ‘guess who has two thumbs’ part of the bit. 

They hugged and laughed, giddy at Richard's good fortune.

"How did you do it?" Jared asked, all ears.

"Upper management really liked one of my side projects. It's, ah, kind of an algorithm. If it pans out they want to integrate it into all of the major systems and they've put _me_ in charge of the team to make that happen."

"That's amazing, Richard!"

Richard shrugged with false modesty, but he couldn't keep the smile from his face. "I got a big raise and a really fat bonus. At this rate, it looks like I'll be out of debt before I'm 30."

The only other person he knew who'd accomplished the same feat was one of his roommates, Erlich, back before the surgeries and the no-pain pills.

They hugged again, then Richard kissed him. In his new contract, Richard had made sure to include five hours a week of SRT, all of them with Jared.

"Listen Jared, do you think maybe we could um, meet sometime? Outside of here? You know, to celebrate?" Richard spoke in a hushed tone, suddenly paranoid. Surely they wouldn't have cameras in this room, but he wouldn't be that surprised. "I know, it's against the rules and you can absolutely say no if you want."

Richard had read the rules top to bottom and he thought they were bullshit. Why shouldn't SRTs and clients get closer? Was it so terrible if they formed relationships outside of work? But then, Richard thought bitterly, the whole point of the SRT division was to encourage employees to work as hard as they could to earn as many sessions a week as possible. Why would anyone do that if they could just... get it for free?

Jared's eyebrows lifted but the look on his face - Richard thought he detected sadness there, and he couldn't help but imagine Jared was trying to figure out a way to turn him down without hurting his feelings.

"In fact maybe I shouldn't have asked at all. It was a terrible idea - just forget I asked. I'm sorry." Richard squeezed his eyes shut. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

"I would love to, Richard. It is very much against the rules, but... yes," said Jared. He reached out and took Richard's hand. "Beside, it's been almost a year since our first appointment. That's kind of an anniversary of sorts."

Richard didn't know that - he hadn't been keeping track. But whatever the excuse, he'd take it.

"I have a place."

~~~


	8. Chapter 8

They had to leave the towers to meet. Separately no less. Just to make sure none of the cameras caught them. As much as Richard hated the SRT policies, he wouldn't just openly flout them, other than their suggestion to use a different name during his sessions - he really couldn't stand the thought of anyone calling him Dick or Ricardo or anything like that (and secretly he loved it when Jared called out his name during heated moments).  

They met at the docks. Richard's friend Wajeed owned a boat, the remnants of his rise to success a few years back, before his abrupt fall just recently. He loaned it out to friends for a small fee.

Jared wore pleated khakis and a sweater/shirt combo, looking every inch the upper level project manager he aspired to be.

It was... utterly bizarre to see him fully dressed. In shoes no less. But Richard tried to temper his shock with the thought that it was even more strange that he could know someone for an entire year and not know what they looked like with clothes on.  

Richard thought it would be weird to meet out in the world, without the rules and boundaries provided by the SRT room. What were they out here to each other? Co-workers? Lovers? Were they even friends? It was like they were meeting for the very first time.

But as soon as they met Jared pulled him in for a kiss. _I know you_ , Richard thought, or rather, he felt. Things weren't exactly simple but suddenly they didn't seem so complicated that they couldn't figure it out.

~~~

They ate boxed supper. They talked. They lounged and listen to music. They had sex. Not all in that order. The sex was kind of a recurring theme - before supper, overlapping with talk, and sometimes accompanied by music. Richard wondered if Jared had some kind of aversion to clothing because he took it off almost as soon as they were behind closed doors. Richard had forgotten Jared's anniversary present on his bed, so he gave him a blowjob instead and wasn't _that_ an experience.

Richard almost felt a little bad about bringing Jared here, to this enclosed space, to do almost exactly the same thing they always did. (Except now they had nearly twelve hours to do it in. Twelve hours! That was like - a whole months' worth of Jared.) He suggested going up to the deck to watch the night sky.

"How are classes going?" Richard asked.

"I'm not going this semester. I didn't get a grant I applied for, and couldn't make tuition. Maybe next term." Jared said with a small shrug, though Richard knew him well enough to see the hurt in the gesture.

"I'm sorry."

Jared shrugged again. "It's okay. I just..." He looked away, seeming to consider his words. "It means at least another year in the SRT program."

The way Jared's voice sounded made Richard want to put his arm around him. "That must be hard," Richard said. "To have sex with a bunch of people you don't know." They didn't talk about it much. Richard wasn't stupid - he knew Jared had sex with other men. It was his job. Richard just didn't like to think about it. Maybe he was getting territorial - maybe this was another reason why there were so many rules keeping SRT's and their clients at arms' length.

Jared shrugged again and looked up at the moon, hanging half-full in the sky. "It's okay."

Richard didn't believe him. "If you don't like it very much, why do you do it?"

Jared sighed. "It pays well, comparatively. My debt load is... prohibitive. Old, um, medical bills. Tuition, obviously. I need something high paid to keep up. And the work, it's not something I'm unfamiliar with. I thought it would get easier but... It was probably a bad idea. I'm not as young as I used to be. And I feel like clients now can tell that... I'm generally not fond of sex."

Richard looked at Jared looking up at the moon. It took a few seconds to parse what he'd said.

"You don't... like it?"

Jared looked over to him. "Oh it's different with you. I thought that was obvious."

Richard nodded. "Oh."

Jared read his face carefully. "You don't believe me," he said.

"Sure I do," Richard lied. Did Jared really expect him to believe his scrawny coder's body could be _that_ enjoyable? Jared hadn't faked the orgasm he'd had less than an hour ago, but Richard knew from experience that it was possible to come and feel shitty about it.

Jared liked him, that was clear enough. And Richard knew it was possible to do a lot of things for a person you liked.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," Jared told him.

"Don't worry about it. It's okay."

~~~

After Jared fell asleep Richard lay awake.

They wanted him to go to Boston for a week, to train a team of engineers in applying his new algorithm. Initially he'd said no way. Now he wasn't sure.

Maybe some distance would be good for him. He needed to clear his head. He'd been thinking such nonsense thoughts lately.

He realized that he'd started thinking of Jared as being more than just his SR therapist. Thinking about how even five hours a week with him didn't sound like enough. Thinking about the fact that technically he _owned_ his portion of the shared apartment he lived in, and if he wanted to invite someone else to stay with him, all they would have to do is get a nicer bed and pay extra utilities.

But that was... clearly not going to work, for so many reasons, the least of which being company rules. His roommates would probably hate Jared, for one. And what would that even look like - just having Jared around all the time? Doing what? Buying groceries and toilet paper? Getting him coffee? Cleaning up after him? Looking over those goddamn team presentations they were always making him do? And maybe sometimes having sex with him, not necessarily because he liked it but because he like seeing Richard happy.

Richard wanted it so badly he couldn't stand to think about it anymore. He resolved to take the week in Boston. 

~~~

 


	9. Chapter 9

Jared received an email the day before Richard was scheduled to get back.

His contract with Hooli was over. His debts and assets had been traded to a company overseas. Effectively, he'd been fired, although they called it a transfer.  

They cited poor work performance, bad client reviews, too many sick days, and breach of company contract.

Included was a picture of Jared with his only regular client, kissing on the docks. Apparently the marina had cameras too.

~~~


	10. Chapter 10

_Once upon a time Jared woke up to receive notice that he was being transferred to Nanjing, leaving that very night._

_He packed a small bag of clothes and possessions and went to the airport. But Richard came home early that day, and heard that Jared was leaving. He rushed to the airport and found him waiting in the shopping lane._

_"Don't go," said Richard._

_"I have to," said Jared. "My contract's binding, I owe too much to quit."_

_"Oh," said Richard. But then he thought about it for a second with that big smart brain of his and he said, "Let's get married. The worst they can do is fire you - but I can take on your debt and you could go back to school."_

_"Oh Richard, I couldn't let you do that," said Jared._

_But Richard bought two silver rings from the cart six feet away and dragged him to the airport chapel. The ceremony took less than a minute but the paperwork took longer._

_On the shuttle back towards the towers they made three calls. A call to the bank to start the loan transfer, a call to Gary Irving in Hooli HR, and a call to Richard's friend Big Head to pick up some pizza and cake on the way home, enough for everyone, except the pizza place didn't have cake so they got brownies instead._

_In the silence on the rest of the way Jared watched Richard watching the scenery go by, chewing his lip while he worried, no doubt, about what came next, about how to come out to his parents, about how they were going to cram yet another person into their apartment, about how they would get along together now that their relationship was so different, and about whether this was a huge mistake._

_Jared was thinking about all of those things too, but he wasn't worried. He was happier than he could ever remember being._

~~~

Jared sighed and opened his eyes. That was his favourite story to tell himself, and he liked to think that in some other universe maybe it happened.

_"Maybe nice things happen in other universes. But they don't in this one. At least not to us,"_ his uncle once told him before going to jail, before Jared found out that cooking, cleaning, and fixing drinks were really not the worst things you could do in exchange for a place to stay.

The man sleeping on top of him started to snore. He'd fallen asleep sobbing about twenty minutes ago without even trying to get Jared to bring him off. Jared would've given him a stop-crying pill but he'd traded all of his for a new tablet after his old one was confiscated at the border.

Jared was saddened that he couldn't even try to comfort the man with words - they didn't know each others' languages. Jared was already trying to learn two languages at a time - the language that his superiors spoke and the language that most of his co-workers spoke, but almost all the clients who came to him spoke one of a handful of other dialects that he could barely recognize.

At least this was a bit of a nice break. Jared tried to shift the man's weight off of one of the bruises on his arm. Some of his clients had anger issues that he clearly wasn't able to help with at all. He liked the crying ones better.

He thought he would try to get some painkillers later, but the doctors here were oddly stingy with those. And in general they were just... quite bad. The only questions they seemed concerned about were 'Are you bleeding?' and 'How much?'

But for now he had a few minutes before he had to wake his client up and take a new one. He closed his eyes and imagined that story again. It got clearer and clearer every time he told it to himself, like a video somehow gaining resolution. He could see the sweat beading on Richard's temple from running through the airport, the stubborn jut of his chin while he picked out the nicest rings he could get with just the cash card in his pocket.

It helped him. He could  _see_ Richard, the same way he could hear his mother's voice and feel his father holding onto his hand. He just wished everything else about his life here didn't hurt so much. 

~~~


	11. Chapter 11

_Your appointment has been refused by the requested therapist. Please choose another._

_Your appointment has been refused by the requested therapist. Please choose another._

_Your appointment has been refused by the requested therapist. Please choose another._

But he didn't want anyone else. He wanted Jared.

Richard stared at his phone. He made the same appointment request like clockwork, five days a week. It was like at tic now really.

He'd made so many inquiries, and gotten no answers. They maintained that Jared refused to see him, but they wouldn't say why.

In his mind, he combed over their last day together a thousand times. He must have said something, did something. Must have fucked it up somehow. By now he wasn't expecting an explanation. He just wanted to say goodbye. It hurt a lot not to see him. It hurt like an open wound.

He put his phone in his pocket and continued on his long trudge home.

Richard paused at the apartment door, wishing for the hundredth time that he could afford to live alone. He got the impression that his roommates didn't like him very much, and it made coming home to sleep a chore that he had to steel himself for.

"He has a  _sexual activity_ profile? With  _reviews?_ " Dinesh's voice carried through the door.

"Cyndi - 05/02/15 - Too nervous. E.D."

Shame burned Richard's cheeks. He wanted to kick the door in and tell them off, but he knew from experience he would likely just make a sputtering mess of himself.

"Here's another one: Jared."

"He's  _gay_ ? You owe me fifty, Gilfoyle."

Richard froze.

"Richard is very kind," Gilfoyle read out loud. "He always arrives showered and often brings thoughtful gifts." Even through Gilfoyle's sarcastic monotone, Richard could hear Jared's mild voice. He slid his keycard through the scanner as quietly as possible and slowly pushed the door open.

"He always takes the time to talk with me. He is smart and funny, and he's a good listener. During our sessions he is sometimes nervous and unsure of himself, but he always shows concern for my comfort. Smiley face."

" _Oh my god_ ," commented Dinesh. 

"I always enjoy our appointments. Richard is my favourite client."

Richard stepped into the room. Over Gilfoyle's shoulder he could see a picture from Jared's profile. Jared's sitting on the bed in his room, dressed in t-shirt and underwear, hands folded on his lap, smiling for the camera.

"How did you get that? Did you... are you hacking into Hooli's personnel files?"

Dinesh whirled around. With a few keystrokes Gilfoyle blacked out his screen.

"No - no bring that back," Richard told him. "I don't care that you looked at my file. Well, I do care but - I just, I want to see  _his_ file. What is he doing? Why won't he take my appointment requests? I thought maybe he didn't like me, but..." Richard gestured to the screen that had moments ago shown Jared's review.

Gilfoyle said nothing, while Dinesh scratched the back of his head as though trying to figure out an excuse to leave the room.

"Look, I really don't care about your hacking. I won't tell anybody, even though it's like, a firing offense," Richard said with as much bravery as he could muster. Gilfoyle narrowed his eyes at him in a way that promised trouble, but Richard ploughed through. "Please, will you just help me find out more about him? I just... I want to talk to him. Please?"

It took a moment for Gilfoyle to make the call, but he finally turned back around and loaded his screen again. Richard watched him search through Hooli files - he'd gained an alarming amount of access.

They skimmed the rest of Jared's SRT profile. Richard's stomach clenched at reading some of the reviews left by his clients. They were mostly two and three star reviews, punctuated by the five stars that Richard always gave him automatically.

_Kinda meh. He just lays there._ Richard purposefully looked away so he wouldn't catch that guy's name, because he knew he would have to go and punch him right fucking now.

"His file ends at 10/05. Housing, medical, everything. Hmm. There's this."

Gilfoyle opened a file in Jared's correspondence section. It was one of the last emails he'd sent, titled 'For Richard.'

A video popped open. It was Jared. On the screen, he backed away from the camera (his tablet, perched on the shelf, Richard could imagine) and sat down on the bed.

"Hey um, this message is for Richard."

Richard's chest felt tight. Something about the expression on his face, the faint tremor in Jared's voice, made Richard suddenly afraid.

"I just found out that, ah. My contract was sold to another company. I'm leaving for Nanjing tomorrow morning. I don't have much say in the matter." Jared looked down at his hands in his lap. "So. I probably won't see you before I go. I just wanted to say, um." He looked up and smiled into the camera, a smile that crumpled after just a few moments. "You were really special to me Richard. I, um, don't generally like my job. But meeting you - getting to spend time with you - made it worth it to me." Jared looked down again. Wiped his cheek. "You're really great, and I know that you're going to find someone special soon. And you'll be happy. I really think you're going to be happy." He forced a smile for the camera again, just for a moment. "Goodbye, Richard. My name is Donald - Donald Dunn. I um, I love you. And I hope we see each other again someday."

Jared muffled a sob with one hand while he got up to turn the camera off.

Richard wiped his face on his sleeve. He didn't care if his roommates saw him crying.

"When was this made? Why the fuck didn't I get it?"

"Says it's from about six months ago," said Gilfoyle.

The email chain showed a conversation between Gary Irving and the R&R department, in which he repeatedly requested they finish their redactions so he could send it. They were dragging their heels and giving him shitty excuses - their exchange went on to as recently as last week.

"I know... I know we don't get along great." Richard's voice shook. "But can you find him for me? Please?"

Gilfoyle started searching again, using the term 'Dunn, Donald.'

It took longer this time. Dinesh turned back to his own screen while Richard paced the room, lost in thought:  _How much did it cost to go to Nanjing? Could he get a transfer? He had a great record, there must be some way he could negotiate a transfer. How long would it take him to learn the language if he started tonight?_

"I found something."

Gilfoyle's screen showed a form in Chinese characters - Richard didn't know Gilfoyle could even read that.

"His contract was sold to a company in Nanjing. His address is listed. But his file there ended about five weeks ago."

"Was he transferred again?" 

"Maybe."

Gilfoyle clicked on a file.

Richard braced himself, but he still wasn't prepared for the video that opened.

It was Jared again. Thin. Sallow. Bruised. He didn't look into the camera. He read something from a small piece of paper - a handful of words in Chinese. Then he reached out and turned the camera off.  

"What the fuck does that mean?" Richard asked. The words were familiar somehow, like he'd heard them before, but he didn't know where.

Gilfoyle and Dinesh exchanged a look. Dinesh drifted back to his computer and turned away.

"Well?"

"Can't be sure," said Gilfoyle. He kept typing, looking through more files.

"Just - open a translator! Hold on, I'll get mine."

"It's a suicide note," said Dinesh quietly without looking around. "The standard note - I think it means 'I protest,' or something like that? You remember - they used to make the news. Mass protests."

Richard shook his head. "No. He wouldn't do that. You don't know him very well. He's like - the happiest person I know. He wouldn't."

Dinesh looked over at Gilfoyle, who had stopped his search at an official-looking form.  

"Sorry for your loss, Richard," Gilfoyle said.

"Don't say that! I'm going to go to Nanjing and get him, like, tomorrow!" He fished his phone out of his pocket with a shaking hand. "I'm gonna book the tickets right now."

"No, you're not," Gilfoyle insisted. "There's a death certificate. He's gone."

"Fuck off Gilfoyle! I'm going!"

"He jumped off the Yangtze River Bridge. Do you want to see the picture?"

Richard stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep himself from punching him.

"Fine. Show it," Richard said, chin jutting out.

Dinesh stood up and fled, muttering in Urdu.  

Gilfoyle scrolled down to the bottom of the coroner's report.

Richard saw what the Yangtze could do to a body. He dropped to the floor and lost his lunch and then his mind.

~~~


	12. Epilogue

Six months later.

Richard wasn't sleeping. He was thirsty and his back hurt but he didn't want to move. He was done crying for the night, he hoped. He waited for sleep.

A phone rang in the living room. One of Jian Yang's commercial jingles. Richard listened to him hang up three times before he finally answered to complain in annoyed Chinese to whoever was on the other end.

A knock at the door. Jian Yang padded in on bare feet. 

"Richard Hendricks? Call for you." He handed Richard the phone, squinting without his glasses. 

"Who is it?"

"Friend of friend," replied Jian Yang.

Richard put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Richard?"

Richard's breath seized in his throat. Was this some kind of sick joke?

" _Jared?_ " He finally managed to get out.

"Richard, I'm so sorry but we don't have a lot of time," said Jared on the other end.

Richard didn't think he could cry anymore that day. "I thought you were dead," he choked out.

"I'm okay, Richard. I made some friends here, and they're helping me." There was an unpleasant hum in the background on his end, and a murmur of hushed voices. "Richard, listen to me. Tell your friend Gilfoyle that he tripped an orange wire. We got his name off the list but it wasn't easy. Next time, try package 503. He'll know what you mean."

A voice, low and indistinctly female, spoke to Jared on the other end.

"Bu zhidao," replied Jared. "I have to go, Richard. I just wanted you to know that I'm okay."

"Wait - where are you? Can I see you? I'll go there. Please, wherever you are, I'll go there. If I can help you and your friends, I will." He wiped his cheeks while he waited for Jared to speak in careful Mandarin to his friend.

"Okay - we could use another good coder. Take a vacation to Shenzhen. We'll find you there. But talk to Gilfoyle first."

"I will - I will. And I'll be there. Soon. I love you."

A clicking noise started in the background.

"I love you too, Richard," Jared replied, and in the next second the call dropped.

Richard gave the phone back to Jian Yang, wiped his face on his robe sleeve, and crossed the apartment to wake up Gilfoyle.

 

~~~

The End 

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank Genyys for betareading, for providing such thoughtful notes, and for encouraging me in this lunacy to begin with. Thank you so much.


End file.
